Author's Note:

Hehehe.

Chapter 128

Michael's Karma

Things had been a little tense since Ruby had blown up at the kids. The realisation of just how close she'd come to dying had left them all a little down since they'd been helpless to stop it.

Goldy and Hedy were a little more disturbed by how well the teen completely blocked them out, though. They couldn't sense anything from her.

No one knew how to break the uncomfortable tension, though. Ruby was stubbornly ignoring the issue, and the others were still shaken. The kids had gone back to hiding.

Hedy had enough sense not to crack her morbid jokes around the bots just yet.

Something was bound to explode at some point, though.

Ruby was working on some new glitter bombs while Hedy worked on repairing Foxy, struggling to get the twitchy fox to stay still for the maintenance. Then Michael showed up. They'd all been waiting for him to try something since Ruby chased him off on the last night of her coma. They were still surprised, though. Did he completely miss Ruby's explosion the previous night? He should have at least sensed something. Or was he stupid enough to try getting anywhere near Ruby even now?

BB immediately ducked under the table Ruby was working at and the teen paused but didn't look up.

"Still trying to repair the damage you caused, Wiggy?" he mocked, leaning against a wall.

Ruby expected Hedy to brush him off. She had been getting good at that.

It seemed she had for a second. Hedy huffed and concentrated on Foxy.

Except...Hedy's fingers shook. She didn't even notice at first until she narrowly avoided scratching something delicate.

She couldn't steady her hands. She stared at the colored strands of wire for a moment before being forced to pull her hands away from Foxy for fear of nicking something. She pressed her white-knuckles into her legs, clenching her tools and refusing to look at anyone. Try as hard as she might, she trembled in anger and shame for even letting Michael see that. A light dimmed, but only slightly, in time with the tremor in her hands.

"Lass," Foxy said barely above a whisper, frowning when the mechanic turned her face away from him slightly. He rarely ever called Hedy that. That name was usually reserved for Ruby or little girl customers.

Mangle had growled at the sight of Michael, and the Toys were all bristling. The Originals were mostly glancing at Hedy in concern.

Ruby watched it out of the corner of her eyes, continuing to take deep breaths. She hated that she had to keep her temper under control or risk another mini whirlwind.

Michael grinned at them. "Struggling a little there, Wiggy? Are they still sparking now and then? Did you manage to get that twitch of Bonnie's sorted?"

Hedy didn't say anything, and not because she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. She couldn't speak even if she wanted to. Her throat was choked with tears that she was trying her damndest not to let reach her eyes.

The trembling didn't stop, and there was a spike of fear at the haunting idea that it would never go away. Her hands were all she had.

It hurt to clench her hands that hard, but she still lifted her eyes to glare at Michael.

Spring was staring at Michael with a blank expression, very much unlike his usual anxiety.

"You're pathetic," Mike abruptly spat at the ghost. Since they met the guy, Michael was the only one who was ever on the receiving end of the utter contempt such a laid back person like Mike could muster. Mike didn't even look at the ghost kids like that, and they had tried to kill him far more times than Michael had.

Ruby raised an eyebrow in surprise, keeping her attention on her glitter bomb. Their reactions were so different she felt like she'd missed a lot. The Toys were bristling like angry cats in Michael's presence. The Originals were worried about Hedy. Mike was actually angry.

And BB was shaking under the table.

The tools she was using trembled on the table and she moved to press her hand down on them. Keep control. Keep control. They didn't need her defending them. They'd dealt with Michael all week without her. They were fine. He was just being a jerk.

"Nothing to say, Wiggy?" Michael taunted, ignoring Mike. "Come now, why so quiet? Have you told Ruby about your accomplishment yet?"

Ruby's cheek twitched. She wasn't sure what he was talking about, but they didn't need her stepping in. She was too volatile right now. They didn't need her.

Hedy desperately wanted to calmly shut him down, but the words just physically wouldn't come.

"Shut up," Goldy snapped.

Michael laughed and Puppet was the only one to notice the way Ruby tensed, how her muscles went stiff.

How it looked like she was keeping herself in her seat through sheer willpower alone. She shifted her gaze from the table up to him like she'd felt his stare. There was a fury boiling in her eyes that he hadn't seen since Michael hurt Hedy during his first week.

Michael knew he was just the barest edge from breaking Hedy. It wasn't like he was going to give up yet.

"Telling me to shut up Goldilocks? That's rich. You're the only one that Wiggy didn't hurt!"

Goldy rolled her eyes, far more concerned with Hedy's shaking than Michael's stupidity.

The mechanic set her tools beside her. She warmed and massaged her hands as if trying to get the blood flow in them, staring at the floor.

Michael smiled at Hedy again. "Are you sure you should even work, Wiggy? Where'd that tremor come from? Guilt? Damn, of all little things. You really have nothing without steady hands, don't you? Kind of useless as a mechanic. Wasting all my time trying to kill you. I should have just cut off your hands and left them for Jeremy to find somewhere."

He snickered in glee as Hedy instinctually pulled her hands back slightly. Her hands were her most valuable tool. She could probably go blind and still be able to work as a mechanic so long as she could feel what she was doing. Michael wanted to kick himself for not leveraging that fear during the week. It would have been perfect. It took her hilarious new little tremor to spark the idea a few days too late.

"Maybe next time," he grinned maliciously at her.

Puppet could see the moment that Ruby's fragile patience snapped. He wasn't sure if it was the threat that did it, or the tremor itself. But the teen's resolve to keep her temper under control crumbled.

The snarl that ripped out of her made everyone look at Foxy first for a moment, but he was as startled as they were.

Ruby didn't even grab Betty or any weapon, really. She pulled herself onto the table and used it to physically launch herself at Michael.

"You fucking bastard! I'm done with your shit!"

She slammed solidly into the ghost, taking him to the ground. Before he could do anything more than yelp in shock, she drew her arm back and punched him in the jaw, the crack of the impact echoing in the room.

Michael didn't even seem to realize he had been attacked for a moment. His first reaction wasn't to defend himself but to touch his mouth and bring his hand away as if unbelievably expecting blood.

There wasn't a shock of red and the pain was possibly a bit duller than if he was alive, but there was something gooey and black on his hand and he could certainly imagine his jaw was broken. His "bones" weren't solid. He felt like stiff jelly. But his "jelly" ribs were snapped or at least cracked under Ruby's knee.

Ectoplasm. The stupid little word popped up as he dumbly stared at the black stuff.

Ruby's glare was searing in intensity.

"You're so damn cocky when you think no one can touch you," she hissed. "So confident when being a ghost means you're safe huh? Worst they can do is hit you with some salt." She reached out and grabbed his hair, yanking hard. "Come on, keep up the threats and the mocking now, Michael. Keep up the taunts. Why'd you suddenly go quiet?" She slammed his head against the ground hard. "You did this all week didn't you? Arrogant the moment I wasn't around to give you a good smack, when everyone was busy trying to keep the kids at bay. Bet you wouldn't have been that bold if the kids hadn't been involved. If it had just been you versus them you wouldn't have tried it would you?!" She forced him to look at her. "You hurt them. You hurt Hedy. And you're going to pay."

Was it his imagination or did he feel more solid than usual? More tethered to the living world?

Ruby drew her arm back again.

Shit, she can touch me? The delayed realization finally caught up with him.

"This is for Hedy." The blow hit his cheek bone this time. "This is for Jeremy and the bots." The next blow hit his nose. "And this is for BB you shitty excuse for a human." That blow hit his temple and he saw stars.

The curse of being dead didn't let him escape by passing out. That was one of the worst things about being a ghost. You were constantly conscious. At least he was. Sleep just wasn't a thing. He could zone out and time would pass, but he was always so wrapped up in his screaming thoughts that it wasn't feasible.

So he was forced to ride out the ringing and the splitting pain while "choking" on the ectoplasm that tricked him into thinking he needed to breathe. He could feel the horrifically solid floor beneath him before his vision and hearing settled. He finally had the wherewithal to try swinging his fist toward where he figured Ruby's head was, but his arm was forced down and his wrist brutally twisted backward until he felt like his hand was being torn off. Now he definitely screamed, short and sharp, even though he couldn't hear it past the ringing in his ears. No, it wasn't dull. It was the first real pain he had felt in a while and somehow that made it so much worse. Even when he was Springtrap, Spring took most of the "nerve" signals.

In the overload of sensation, he caught a glimpse of Hedy's reaction. Glee and relief, but it was only for a moment and then she didn't give a fuck about him anymore. Her focus switched to worry about Ruby, and he suddenly wasn't even a thought rattling in her mind. She didn't even care that he read any of that from her. It bothered him more than it should, given the pain he was in.

Compared to what he was getting from Hedy and even Goldy, who was just radiating satisfaction, Ruby was a different story.

He got nothing from her, even this close. She was like a blank wall he couldn't get through.

It was unsettling somehow.

"You're a pathetic coward," Ruby hissed.

Surprisingly for everyone else, there wasn't a whirlwind of things flying through the air.

What was different though was how solid Michael looked. He barely even looked transparent now as Ruby socked him in the face again, definitely causing a black eye.

There were even noticeable hard sounds as his shoulder blades and the back of his skull banged into the floor as Ruby lifted him up slightly to slam him back down.

"Now," Ruby's voice was deadly calm. "Unless you want me to honestly try and see if a ghost can die, I suggest you listen. You are going to leave Hedy and Spring alone. You are going to leave BB and Goldy alone. You will not bother any of them. Or I will hunt you down and continue this. And next time I won't stop. I have lines I won't cross Michael. But even I can be pushed too far. And so far? I have had a crappy week. Don't PUSH IT." She stared him down for a long moment. "Do you understand?"

Michael's pride didn't even let him nod, but the shock and fear in his eyes was hard to miss.

She can fucking touch me?!

He couldn't even fight back properly. He was at least a foot and a half taller, not to mention a man, but even with the strange solidness, he didn't have the strength afforded an actual body. HIs struggles were nothing to the small teen.

The small teen who was vicious and knew exactly where to hit to cause the most pain.

"You won't get a second chance after this Michael," Ruby's tone was harsh. "Watch yourself. If there's a next time, I might not be able to kill a ghost," she leaned down and whispered the rest in his ear. "But I can certainly try maiming you. Would a broken spine heal hmmm? Crushed hands? Splintered ribcage?" She patted his cheek, a mocking reminder of her new ability. "We can always experiment."

Then she smoothly stood up and dusted herself off.

Hedy was eyeing Ruby as she did. She didn't look angry. Just cautiously concerned for the teen.

Mike, who was closest, decided to experiment while he had the chance. He casually walked over the few feet and viciously sent one hefty stomp into Michael's stomach. The solid effect was fading more every second since Ruby pulled away so it felt like kicking through a mass of molasses. Michael's corporealness dissolved before the kick was even finished, but Michael still involuntarily gasped and curled up more, spitting out more black sludge, unable to even glare at the other man.

"Hm. Neat. And still pretty satisfying," Mike said dryly, glancing at the still preoccupied Hedy with his own bit of worry. He looked at Ruby. "Not trying to steal the show. Genuinely curious."

Ruby tilted her head. "Something to try later on. If it ever becomes necessary." She bared her teeth in a smile at Michael. "I'm sure Jeremy can deliver a harder punch than I can."

"If Jeremy learns about this, he'll castrate Michael first chance he gets," Mike informed with a deadpan tone and only a small wince, missing Hedy's mild reproachful look.

She hadn't exactly told Ruby about certain specific aspects of Michael's threats. Not that she was hiding them from Ruby, but Ruby had made her point spectacularly and Hedy didn't want the teen whipped into another frenzy immediately after another.

Thankfully the teen seemed to take the comment as a reference to how much Jeremy hated the ghost and nothing more.

"Well I feel better," she announced cheerfully.

"You're supposed to be resting," Timmy muttered petulantly from nearby.

"I'm fine," Ruby rolled her eyes.

"He's got a point," Hedy said, turning her attention to her hands. She held them out a few inches from her chest, watching the tremor grow worse the more attention she gave it.

"You okay?" Mike asked, regretting it when Hedy looked irritated he had asked.

"Fine," she said with a frown. "Nothing physical. It's psychosomatic." She sneered at herself, knowing it was all in her head and she still wasn't able to control it.

She was startled when Ruby flopped down on the table in front of her, barely avoiding impaling herself on the tools.

Foxy gave her an exasperated but fond look.

The teen flicked Hedy's nose.

"He's a bastard."

Hedy jerked her head back on instinct and slapped Ruby's hand away with a frown.

"You don't need to tell me," she said. She rubbed her hands together like she was washing them, massaging the tense muscles.

Ruby studied her for a moment. She didn't say anything though. Instead, she fiddled with Hedy's tools in that way that she knew annoyed the mechanic.

"H-hey!" Hedy sputtered, trying to pull them out of reach as others in the room snorted at her frantic tone. "Ruby quit it! I know you're trying to distract me."

"Is it working?" Foxy asked with a smirk.

"Not the point!" Hedy pointed a wrench at him sternly, her hand steady.

Psychosomatic, just like she already knew.

Ruby grinned smugly.

"Missed one," she held up a wrench. Hedy's favourite wrench.

She cackled and hid behind Foxy.

"For the love of-" Hedy said, exasperated. "Ruby, please! I need to finish this tonight."

"Do you really though, Mechanic?" Foxy asked easily. "I feel fine."

"You need a break, Hedy," Goldy said dryly without looking up from her book. "Not to mention, Mike hasn't gotten a chance to really see what we do on normal nights."

Mike groaned. "Okay so I'm curious but I'm still coming off an adrenaline high so if we could avoid any heart attack inducing activities for at least another week that would be great." He shot Hedy a pleading look.

"Not a chance with Ruby back," Spring said, busy petting Kitty to calm himself (and her) down from Michael's appearance.

Everyone looked at Ruby who was staring at Mike with an absolutely wicked grin.

"I wonder how many times I can scare him in one night."

Mike paled. "Oh, please no..."

It was funny how Mike snagged the title for one of the only people that seemed to have an accurate understanding of the pure chaos that Ruby was so soon after meeting her.

Even Hedy hadn't known what to think when they first met. She had underestimated Ruby a lot during the Toys' week before they got to know each other better.

Mike, however, was shockingly taking Ruby in stride without much of a learning curve. Maybe it was partly because of his willingness to help during the week, she was weirdly accepting of him fairly quickly. Still, he acted like he was warned about her or had already known her for a while.

"I haven't caused trouble for a week," Ruby grinned. "Time to make up for that."

"It was nice knowing you," Goldy said sincerely as Ruby scrambled into the ceiling vent, thankfully leaving Hedy's wrench behind.

Mike moaned, immediately thinking of all the hiding places Ruby had mentioned in those tapes she and Hedy recorded.

"I'm staying right here!" he declared.

Yeah, that would not last long. Ruby's timing was horrible. He needed to pee. How long could he hold it? That was a bad idea. He didn't want Ruby scaring him and causing him to wet himself. Definitely not in front of Hedy. Or the bots of course. Mangle wouldn't let him live it down.

Maniacal laughter echoed from the vents.

"I missed her," Bonnie sighed.

"I'm too tired for this," Mike complained.

Hedy smiled at him. "Welcome to the family, Mike. Just watch out for that stupid sticky net thing." She glared at the ceiling as if she had x-ray vision and could see Ruby.

Mike glanced up. "Your hair doesn't look too bad."

"I had to cut out clumps!"

Puppet snorted.

That made Ruby cackle.

"The glue comes out if you use dishwashing liquid."

Silence fell in the room.

Hedy looked red in the face.

"...WHAT?! RUBY!"

Mike winced. "Yeah, that type of glue-" He cut off as heads turned in his direction and he realized his mistake.

Hedy stared at him. "You knew?"

"I didn't realize you didn't," Mike said frantically. "Then you cut your hair, and I figured you would only be upset if I told you... so..."

Mike gave up halfway through and scrambled to his feet, running for it after Hedy squinted at him. He needed to get to the bathroom anyway...

He got his first taste of a glitter bomb to the face with Ruby's uncanny accuracy within five minutes.

It was certainly going to be interesting from now on...